Manhunt continues in Border Patrol agent's slaying

RIO RICO - The call came shortly after 11 p.m.: a U.S. Border Patrol agent had been shot near Peck Canyon north of Nogales and urgent help was needed.

But it was too late for Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies and emergency medical responders to save Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, 40, who was killed in a Tuesday night shootout. Federal authorities would not give details about the assailants, but a local official and the head of a Border Patrol union said they believed Terry and other agents were in a gunbattle with bandits who prey on illegal immigrants and smugglers.

Four suspects are in custody, including one who was shot and is hospitalized. A manhunt for a fifth suspect continued into Wednesday night.

"I assure you that every effort will be expended to bring the remaining suspect into custody," said Richard Barlow, deputy chief of the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which runs from the New Mexico border west, nearly to the Arizona-California border. "This is a stark reminder of the realities we face each and every day in protecting this border and protecting our communities. There are people who wake up each and every day with nothing on their minds but to do harm to the citizens of this country and our way of life. We will continue to stand firm in our commitment to our mission."

Terry was shot to death in a remote area outside of Rio Rico, about 10 miles north of the U.S.-Mexican border.

The incident rekindled concerns about violence from Mexico's bloody drug war spilling into the United States. Robert Krentz, a longtime Cochise County rancher, was shot and killed March 27 in a still-unsolved homicide case that stoked the border-security debate during this year's congressional midterm election campaigns and contributed to the Arizona Legislature's passage of the state's controversial immigration law, known as Senate Bill 1070.

Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies, who are providing support to the FBI and the Border Patrol in the Tuesday slaying, on Wednesday picked up a fifth individual, described as an undocumented immigrant, in the same general area where Terry was killed. But it was unclear if he was connected to the Terry homicide, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said.

Details about the assailants and Terry's late-night confrontation with them remain scarce. FBI spokeswoman Brenda Nath could not confirm if Terry, who was a member of the Border Patrol's tactical unit, and other agents were taking part in any sort of special operation at the time of the shootout or say how many other Border Patrol agents were involved. At a news conference in Tucson, Barlow and Nathan Gray, special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix division, declined to release any additional information about the case, citing the ongoing investigation.

Estrada, whose deputies responded to the agents' 911 call, said that given the remote area where the shootout occurred, it is likely they encountered ruthless border-gang members who try to rob immigrants and smugglers after they've crossed the border illegally.

"I have no idea what they (the Border Patrol agents) were doing, but they will go into high-risk areas, and will patrol certain areas, looking for smugglers or bajadores, or bandits," Estrada told The Arizona Republic. "That's very possibly what they were doing in that area. Unfortunately, they came up with somebody."

T.J. Bonner, president of the 12,000-member National Border Patrol Council, a labor union representing agents, said Terry and other agents were assigned to the area in response to reports of bandit activity. Bonner said bandits typically are not connected to cartels. Instead, they make their livings by preying upon others.

"Obviously, this underscores the fact our border remains out of control when you have bandits preying upon people many miles inland," Bonner said.

Estrada gave this account of the incident to The Republic:

"A little after 11 p.m., we got a call from Border Patrol headquarters requesting backup and emergency medical service. There had been shots fired, and one of their agents had been shot. We did send our deputies up there. We did contact the ambulance service. They did respond to an area known as Peck Canyon. By the time the ambulance personnel got there, the agent had already passed away."

Terry was a member of the Border Patrol's tactical unit, assigned to the Naco station. However, he was working out of the Nogales station the night that he was killed.

Since 1919, 111 Border Patrol agents have died on duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page Inc., which tracks law-enforcement deaths. They say the last Border Patrol agent shot to death was Robert Wimer Rosas Jr. in July 2009, in California.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who had planned this week to visit the border Friday, is moving her trip up a day because of the shooting. The Border Patrol is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

"The fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry last night is an unconscionable act of violence against the men and women of the Border Patrol and all those who serve and defend our country," Napolitano said in a written statement.

On Wednesday, Gov. Jan Brewer and Capitol Hill politicians reacted to the incident even as authorities continued to scour the remote and rugged southern Arizona terrain - marked in places by steep, rocky hills and valleys - for the fifth suspect.

"While there have been some small measures of progress in securing the border, Agent Terry's murder and the still-unsolved slaying of rancher Robert Krentz on his land in Cochise County in March are painful reminders that much more remains to be done," said U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. "Drugs and violence along the border continue to pose significant challenges for our nation. The Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol, to which Agent Terry was assigned, must be the focus for national enforcement efforts."

Brewer, a Republican, ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff in Terry's honor.

"Although we needed no reminder of the ever increasing dangers along our southern border, this tragedy serves as stark notice that the threats facing all who serve in protecting our state and nation are real, and are increasing on a daily basis," Brewer said.

U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, both Arizona Republicans, also called on the federal government to do more to secure the border as they expressed their sympathies to Terry's family.